Tip: How To Use Frozen Edamame

A reader emailed us to ask about using up frozen edamame. Her dilemma? What to do with them besides making a puréed dip. We have several ideas, and most of them start with the microwave...

Frozen, shelled edamame are becoming easier to find at the average grocery store, which is good — they are so healthy and versatile. We do often purée them into a hummus made with edamame instead of chickpeas, but they work well in any dish where you might normally use beans or peas.

Then throw them in at the end stage of cooking a stir-fry or soup. You can simply toss them with some soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds and eat them as is (or on a salad). And while we haven't attempted this, we think you could create a crunchy snack by substituting edamame for chickpeas in our Oven Roasted Chickpeas.

We also love the look of this Three-Bean Salad, above, from Gourmet. It combines black beans, black-eyed peas, and edamame with lime juice, cilantro, and red onion.